There may be more Metal Gear Solid remakes on the way, but it probably isn’t the one you’ve been holding out hope for. The Metal Gear Solid series is one of gaming’s most prized franchises. It put Hideo Kojima on the map, as he developed unique, innovative gameplay mechanics for a stealth/action game and complemented it with some extremely heady storytelling. With that said, the series largely came to a close with Metal Gear Solid V in 2015. Although there’s maybe a chance it would have continued had Kojima stuck around (as he repeatedly declared various games as the final entry), that was intended to be the end.
However, that’s a lively IP and Konami wasn’t content with letting it rest. As a result, the series was sort of revived earlier this year with Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, a remake of the third game in the series. Konami seemingly chose to start with the game not only because it’s a fan-favorite, but it is also canonically the first chronological game in the series, making it more accessible for newcomers. So, where do they go from here? Well, it sounds like there are a few options.
While it’s expected that there could be a brand new game in the series, more remakes and remasters are also likely. For starters, Konami has already teased another collection of remasters, similar to the one that bundled together the first three games in one package. Another collection could feature Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker and Metal Gear Solid 5… but maybe not Metal Gear Solid 4.
Series producer Noriaki Okamura spoke with Real Sound about the future of the franchise, where he noted that it’s currently undecided what the next step will be for the series in terms of a new game or more re-releases. However, when it comes to Metal Gear Solid 4, a simple remaster or port seems unlikely. Okamura noted the technical challenges that come with the unique code for the game’s original PS3 version, which is why it has been locked to that platform for years.
“The hardware at the time required some pretty special construction to deliver 3D performance with the technology available at the time, and MGS4 also had some pretty special code… It would be pretty hard to bring it up now.”
As a result, it seems like Metal Gear Solid 4 would need to be outright remade in order to see the light of day. Of course, there is a chance that the team could find a way around this and just do a simpler remaster, but it seems like the odds of that happening are a bit limited at the moment.
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